ARLINGTON, Va.-There has been much debate about how 9/11 memorials at the Pentagon, Ground Zero and Shanksville, Pa., should be created-what they should look like, how they should feel. It’s really a conversation about how to make each space sacred. The designers of the Pentagon memorial got it right. Their hauntingly understated, modern design transforms a site of immense grief into a transcendent sanctuary for holy memories of the dearly departed. It’s not representational but evocative. And that is its power.

(Cathleen Falsani is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and author of the new book “Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace.”)